The Bats and the Bees

Aug 10, 2010
Posted by Dawn Merritt

At the end of our July convention, Ikes
enjoyed workshops that offered an in-depth look
at two species that play an integral role in
ecosystems across the country: Bats and honey
bees. These speakers were dynamic, informed,
and clearly framed the issues that put these
pollinators – and us – in peril.

To Bee or Not To
Bee“Honey bee populations are
dramatically declining," says Jeremy Barnes,
president of the York County Bee Keepers
Association. "Over the past 50 years, the
number of hives in the United States has
declined by 55 percent. In the most dramatic
losses, labeled Colony Collapse Disorder,
almost all of the bees in a colony disappear
overnight, as if they were called or pushed out
of the hive and could not find their way back
home.”

Beekeepers see a direct correlation
between what’s happening in the hives
and what’s happening with pesticides
on crops. "The wax that bees create to
store honey and raise bee larvae acts as a
filter, absorbing chemicals to prevent
contamination of the honey," explains Barnes.
"In 2009, researchers identified 78 different
chemicals in beeswax, of which 46 were
pesticides. These chemicals – from industrial
pollution and car exhaust to agricultural
chemicals – could contaminate stored honey or
damage the bees themselves.”

Beekeepers expect and can normally
recover from winter losses of up to 15 percent.
But over the past four years, according to
Barnes, those numbers ranged from 29 to 35
percent – a level that beekeepers say is
unsustainable. "Only 50 miles from this hotel
is one of Pennsylvania’s largest commercial
beekeepers. He was hit with Colony Collapse
Disorder and it cost him $1.5 million to get
reestablished. He just got hit again. He
can’t handle those loses." Some commercial
beekeepers are calling it quits, and the
future of the many crops that depend on
commercial bee pollination is now in
question.

Barnes told the Ikes that what will save the
honey bees are the choices we make as
consumers. "We need to ask questions about
where our food comes from, how it was grown,
and the chemicals that it might contain and to
support with our dollars those who farm in
conformity with our values. We need a
revolution from below.”

For more information about honey bee
declines and what you can do to help –
including the story of a Pennsylvania family
making a difference by keeping their own bee
hives and encouraging others to do the same –
read Barnes' article in the upcoming issue
of Outdoor America.

White Nose Syndrome: Devastating Bat
DiseaseGreg Turner, a wildlife biologist
with the Bureau of Wildlife Management,
Pennsylvania Game Commission, is at the
forefront of White Nose Syndrome (WNS)
research. He offered details on recent efforts
to combat the fungus causing the disease and
what the spread of White Nose Syndrome may mean
to bat populations.

“Bats provide valuable ecological
services,” explained Turner. “One little
brown bat can capture 1,200 insects in an hour.
A nursing female eats more than her own body
weight nightly – up to 4,500 insects,
including mosquitoes that can transmit deadly
diseases and moths that eat crops. Bats consume
hundreds of thousands of tons of insects
annually in this country alone.”

White Nose fungus was first discovered in
New York in 2007. According to Turner, it’s a
fungus we’ve never seen before. It invades
the skin and digests live cells, which is quite
different from other fungi, which usually eat
dead organic material. The fungus eats away bat
wing membranes while they hibernate in the
winter. “All it takes is one infected bat and
the site is done. Within one to two years the
mortality rate is 99 percent.”

Turner emphasized that people are spreading
White Nose Syndrome. "It has now spread to
western bat species and must have been brought
into those western caves by people because
eastern and western bat species won’t mingle.
Research shows clothing can contain and hold
the fungus spores.”

Turner’s research shows that hibernation
sites are still infected with the fungus at
least one year after a bat colony dies.
Scientists can’t simply disinfect those sites
because they host many other animals and
ecosystems. He is working with other
researchers on ways to prevent the spread of
White Nose Syndrome, such as keeping uninfected
bats blocked in their caves, and treating bats
that have been infected.

Turner provided a list of action items for
Ikes, including

-- Educate cave owners of caves about the
moratorium on people entering caves,
decontamination protocols, and why they should
help minimize disturbance of bats in the
winter. (You can find decontamination protocols
on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Web
site along with updates on cave closures
nationwide.)

-- Inform your political representatives
about the need for political and financial
support to investigate this ongoing disaster.

-- Install bat boxes in suitable locations
where bats can safely rear their young (these
are called maternity sites) and conduct bat
emergence counts at known maternity sites. (You
can find bat box construction plans on
the League Web site.)

-- “Help us find survivors. We need to
know where summer colonies are to protect
them!” Check your state Department of Natural
Resources Web site for contact
information.